The Cost of Faking it(creates counterfeit self)

Psychology Today ^ | 05/25/10 | Daniel R. Hawes

[TigerLikesRooster]

The Cost of Faking it

Published on May 25, 2010

There's a saying that clothes don't make the man, but a lot of times the clothes we wear (accessories and tattoos included) do actually say something about who we are. (If you're famous, it may even happen that the clothes you don't wear say something about who you are).

Besides signaling to others, clothes obviously also have an effect on how we feel about ourselves, and as a recent study shows, this sense of self that we derive from certain clothing produces measurable behavior changes. In particular, the study which was conducted by Francesca Gina, Michael Norton and Dan Ariely and appeared in this month's edition of the journal Psychological Science, looked at the relation between wearing counterfeit products and cheating.

As the study shows, wearing counterfeit products, influences people's cheating behavior and even has an effect on people's perception of how honest their peers are. Here's a brief summary of the research:

85 female students were invited to the research lab; ostensibly to evaluate the quality of different types of sunglasses. Before starting the main part of the experiment, each participant stated preferences across a range of products on a computer. They were then (randomly) told that the computer program had calculated a preference for either authentic or counterfeit products, and depending on which preference was stated, participants were asked to fetch a pair of sunglasses from a box labeled either authentic or counterfeit. Both of the boxes actually contained an identical sample of ten different pairs of designer sunglasses - each worth around 300$ and none of them counterfeits. (The purpose of the preceding assignment stage was to make participant's believe that they had been assigned their particular pair of glasses, based on personal preferences).

[TigerLikesRooster]

Agreed. More than a billion of them suffering from this pathology. Does not bode well for the world.

Its ruling elites are soaked with this mentality. Subterfuge and outright fakery all around. I think many of them believe it is the cultural asset which makes them outclass competitors, not realizing that it has already poisoned their mind.

[Cronos]

Thank you! Darn, missed my coffee :)

But I can tell you from personal experience that my school (a Catholic one) insisted on the same uniform -- the poorer students would get it donated by the school, but whether your daddy was super rich or you were a poor orphan, you dressed the same, down to your shoes and no watches allowed either.

This had the effect of group awareness and yes, better self-esteem, less self-promotion and nobody caring about the other's social status -- the school alumni are very close: my best friends are those I met at 9-10 and I still meet them and I know of many from my school who do the same thing (i.e. their school friends are still their closest friends).

About less lying --> I don't know, since I don't have anything to compare it with. My wife's school didn't have these uniforms et. al. and they had lesser group awareness.

of course this is purely my (biased) observation... :)

[PGR88]

But I can tell you from personal experience that my school (a Catholic one) insisted on the same uniform

Same for me. Even as a young teen, I realized the benefits of a uniform and how it calmed and focused the most raging fashionistas among us. My kids now go to public school middle-school. The only requirement seems to be that one doesn't come to school naked. Our kids are fine, but my wife and I are nonetheless quite conflicted with the environment at the school....

[Cronos]

oh, I don’t have kids yet, but I can imagine how tense it is for parents to try and figure out the best possible choices for their kids.